Terrence Malick's philosophical war film is quite elusive. I thought Brody was getting buried at the end but it turns out to have been Caviezel, whose slightly mystic faith seems to have abandoned him when captured by Japanese soldiers.
We're used to such battle scenes now but then the impact would have been enormous, though it's perhaps moments like the feelings of post-victory exhaustion that are so effective. And the frequent realisations that nature in all its glory is all around them all the time. I like the fact we don't see any Japanese until well over halfway through.
Jim Caviezel, Sean Penn, Elias Koteas, Nick Nolte, John C. Reilly, Woody Harrelson, Adrien Brody, Ben Chaplin, Kirk Acevedo, Nick Stahl, Thomas Jane, John Savage, Dash Mihok, John Travlota, Tim Blake Nelson, George Clooney.
Most of Adrien's scenes were cut from the film despite his character being the main one in the novel. I'm sure I remember Clooney telling this story, that Brody didn't know until he attended the premiere. James Jones, who wrote the novel (and 'From Here to Eternity') was himself a WW2 soldier who fought at Guadalcanal, and it's from this Malick gets the idea of the voiceovers telling the characters' interior stories.
Edited by Leslie Jones and Billy Weber, and Saar Klein. Shot mainly in Australia and the Solomon Islands. John Toll's crew films sensationally right in the thick of it, and he uses a big Akela crane to get those smooth tracking shots up the hills, Steadicam too obviously. Lighting was minimal and often the same scene would be shot at different times of day so the choice could be made later which way to go.
Music Hans Zimmer.
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